Mayor Jim Kenney recently addressed the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce at its annual Mayoral Luncheon, discussing the importance of our investment in our city’s rec centers, libraries and parks. He used the Fairmount Park Conservancy and Philadelphia Park and Recreation’s Hunting Park project as an example of how parks can support afterschool education and improve public safety. Here’s the excerpt from his Chamber of Commerce speech:
“When the City and the Fairmount Park Conservancy invested $5 million in Hunting Park, crime went down 89% within a half mile radius of the park over the next three years.”